Connection of tubular element to a garment

ABSTRACT

A tubular garment element has a front panel folded transversely upon itself and provided with a diagonally cut end which is attached to a diagonally cut end of a foreshortened rear panel. The tubular garment element is sewn to another garment element along a line of stitching which intersects the connected diagonal ends at a point spaced from the edge of the garment to reduce the difficulty of maintaining alignment between the garment elements during sewing.

D United States Patent 1191 1111 3,725,955 Grant 1- Apr. 10, 1973 [54] CONNECTION OF TUBULAR 1,404,305 1/1922 Lang ..2 90 UX ELEMENT TO A GARMENT 1,563,927 12/1925 Rahn ..2/90 X 1,652,183 12/1927 Piscitello et a1. ..2/90 X [75] Invent Donald Gram Des Flames 2,106,102 1/1938 Le Coney ..2/90 x [73] Assignee: The Mel-row Machine Company,

Hartford, Conn. Primary ExaminerWerner H. Schroeder [22] Filed: Jan. 7 1972 Att0rney-Bever1dge & De Grandi [21] Appl. No.: 216,008 [57] ABSTRACT A tubular garment element has a front panel folded [52] US. Cl ..2/90, 1 12/262 transversely upon itself and provided with a diagonally [5 Clr ..A41d cut end is attached to a diagonally cut end of a [58] Field of Search ..2/70, 77, 85, 88, f h t d rear paneL The tubular garment 2/90 961 12L 243 ment is sewn to another garment element along a line 272; 112/262 440 of stitching which intersects the connected diagonal ends at a point spaced from the edge of the garment to [56] References cued reduce the difficulty of maintaining alignment UNITED STATES PATENTS between the garment elements during sewing.

1,279,41 1 9/1918 Neuman ..2/90

10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures CONNECTION OF TUBULAR ELEMENT TO A GARMENT This invention relates to the connection of a tubular element to a garment, and involves both the method of making the garment and the resulting product.

Many types of garments utilize tubular elements which are attached to the remainder of the garment. The tubular elements may be made from folded material with edge seams such as a shirt collar, a folded cuff or an edging that is applied to the garment. Tubular elements may also be continuous knit elements which are customarily used for the borders of cardigan sweaters. Since the latter constitutes a preferred form of the invention, particular attention will be directed to it throughout the following discussion without limiting the possible areas of applicability of the invention.

This description will refer to a tubular garment element as having a pair of panels joined along longitudinal lines. The longitudinal lines are for geometrical reference and do not necessarily constitute a particular line of stitching or other structure in the garment. The reference to front and rear" panels has been adopted as a convenient way of identifying the different panels rather than to indicate their particularrelationship to the remainder of the garment.

Prior to this invention, it has been a customary practice in the garment industry to close the end of a tubular element by an interiorily located transverse line of stitching which unites the extreme end portions of the two panels. When tubular elements so constructed are sewn to other garment elements, the quadruple thickness at the closing seam has been known to present problems in maintaining proper alignment between the tubular element and the element to which it is attached. It is believed that these difficulties are largely attributable to the bulk of material at the closed end of the tubular element which, when confronted by the presser foot of the sewing machine may produce any of several undesirable results. The end seam may roll forward causing the tubular body to extend beyond the edge of the other garment element; the end seam may roll backward causing the tubular body element to be recessed from the edge of the other garment element; or, the end seam may act as an, obstruction and be pushed away from the edge of the other garment element.

This invention is directed to avoidance of the afore mentioned difficulties by means of a novel technique for closing the end of the tubular garment element.

According to one aspect of the invention, the tubular garment element, which inherently involves first and second panels joined together at opposed longitudinal lines, is cut so that the diagonal edges of the respective panels intersect at one longitudinal line'and are spaced apart at the other longitudinal line. The diagonal edges are then connected and the tubular garment element is sewn together along the longitudinal line where the edge connection will be spaced from the end of the tubular element.

The invention also involves a resulting garment wherein the first panel of the tubular gannent element extends axially beyond the second panel and is folded transversely to confront itself. Diagonally cut ends of the lines of stitching intersect at a point spaced inwardly from the end of the element-uniting line of stitching.

A more complete understanding of the invention may be had by reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate conventional prior art practice and a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows the portion ofa cardigan sweater which includes the lower end portion of the tubular border and a portion of the adjacent front panel.

FIG. 2 is a sectional viewtaken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the structure shown in FIG. 1 and depicts one type of distortion which has been a problem in the prior art.

FIG. 4 shows the present invention as preferably embodied in the lower end portion of the tubular border of a cardigan sweater, where it is connected to the front panel of the sweater.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view as seen along the line 5-5 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows the tubular garment element of FIG. 4 during. an intermediate stage of its manufacture.

In the prior art according to FIGS. 1-3, cardigan sweaters have been made with their front panels 2 connected by a line of stitching 4 to a longitudinal line on the tubular element 6. The tubular element 6, as depicted, has a front panel 8 and a rear panel 10 which are connected together along longitudinal lines, one of which lies within the line of stitching 4 and the other of which is at the edge 12.

In its initial stage, the tubular body 6 is an extremely long, continuously knit element which is cut into a plurality of segments used for individual sweaters. Before being attached to the panel 2 of a sweater, the lowermost end of the tubular body 6 must be closed, with such closure customarily being accomplished by first making a longitudingal cut in the tubular body for an approximate length of three inches or more. The lower end of the tube is everted throughthis longitudinal cut (i.e. the outer surfaces of the panels are placed face-toface) and the transverse edge portions are sewn together by a line of stitching seen at 14 in FIG. 2. The area including the line of stitching is then inserted back into the tubular element and the cut longitudinal edge of the tubular element is sewn to the remainder of the garment by the line of stitching 4.

It will be evident from FIGS. 1-3 that this prior technique produces a bulging at the lower end of the tubular body by virtue of the quadruple thickness of the knit material in this area. In addition to being somewhat unattractive, the presence of the bulging area creates a problem when attempting to apply the line of stitching 4, since the presser foot of the-sewing machine encounters the bulged area at a critical point when it is important to maintain alignment between the end of the tubular body 6 and the lower edge of the sweater panel 2. Distortions can occur when the closed end of the tubular body rolls down up or is pushed forwardly.

According to the present invention, there is no area of quadruple thickness at the closed end of the tubular body, and the area of increased thickness is spaced from the critical end portion thereof. This is accomplished by means of the method and structure shown in FIGS. 4, and 6. According to this arrangement, there is no area of quadruple thickness at the closed end of the tubular body, the panels of the tubular body are connected together along a diagonal line rather than a transverse line, and the area of increased thickness of the tubular element is spaced inwardly from the end where misalignment problems have arisen in the past.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show the tubular garment element 16 which has a front panel 18 and a rear panel 20. The tubular garment element 16 is attached to another garment element 17 by a line of overedge stitching 36.

One of the reference longitudinal lines of the element I 16 lies along the edge 27, and the other reference longitudinal line is located within the line of stitching 36. The lowermost edges of the panels 18 and 20 are diagonally oriented with the end portion 18a of the elongated front panel being folded transversely at 22 to confront itself and to bring its edge 24 into alignment with the diagonal edge 25 of the foreshortened rear panel 20.

To make the. particular construction shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the tubular garment element is cut in the manner illustrated in FIG. 6. If the tubular element is a seamless body such as a knit tube, it is cut along a longitudinal line to form the longitudinal edges 28 and 30. The end portion of the tubular body is then laid out and cut to form the diagonal end 32. When considering the tubular body as constituting front and rear panels which are joinedtogether at opposed longitudinal lines, it will be observed that the front panel 18 extends longitudinally beyond the rear panel 20 and that the diagonal ends of panels intersect at one of the longitudinal lines at a point 34 and are longitudinally spaced apart at the other longitudinal line which is the line defining the longitudinal edges 28 and 30.

' After preliminary preparation of the tubular element I shown in FIG. 6, the exterior surfaces of panels 18 and 20 are placed face-to-face and the diagonal end 24 of the front panel is brought into coincidence with the diagonal end 25 of the second panel 20. These ends are then sewn together by the conventional overedge stitching which is shown at 26 in FIG. 5. During this sewing step, it is apparent that the lower portion of the tublar body is everted since the normal exterior surfaces of the tubular body are facing each other. Upon completion of this sewing step, the panels 18 and 20 are passed between the edges 28 and 30 and returned to their normal confronting relationship, threby locating the line of stitching 26 within the tubular body.

The final step involves the sewing of the tubular body to the front panel of the sweater, by a line of overedge stitching 36 which extends along the longitudinal line of the longitudinal edges 28 and 30. This closes the longitudinal cut in the tubular body and results in the attractive appearance illustrated in FIG. 4. During this final sewing step, the presser foot of the sewing machine rides over extra thicknesses of material only along the midportion of the line of stitching 36. No extra thicknesses of material are present at the end of the tubular element to be deflected by the presser foot and cause misalignment. In the completed product shown in FIG. 4, the line of stitching 26 is immediately below the diagonal seam and extends from the intersection of the transverse fold 22 and the edge 27 which constitutes one of the longitudinal lines joining the panels 18 and 20, to a point on the other longitudinal line which joins the panels and is spaced inwardly from the end of the line of stitching 36.

The manufacture of many types of garments will require that both ends of the tubular element be closed. When this is done, one end of the tubular element is prepared and sewn in the manner indicated in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 and the line of stitching 36 applied in the direction of the arrow 38 shown in FIG. 4. When the machine operator approaches the other end of the tubular body which requires closing, the garment is removed from the machine, preferably about four inches before reacing the edge of the garment which defines the end of the intended line of stitching 36. Following the previously described procedures, the tubular element is cut longitudinally, its end is cut diagonally turned back upon itself, sewn with a line of stitching corresponding to that shown at 24 and then turned so that the line of stitching is located on the interior of the tubular element. The garment portions are then placed back in the sewing machine and the line of stitching 36 is completed to the edge of the garment, again with no distortion or interference from the multiple thicknesses of fabric at the edge of the garment.

Although the dimensions utilized will vary considerably depending upon the nature of materials, size of the tubular body and the esthetic qualities determined by the designer, it has been found that when applying a tubular knit border to a cardigan sweater, the length of the longitudinal out which produces the edges 28 and 30 is at least 3 inches, the axial component of the diagonal end 32 is about 1.25 inches and will produce a garment where the diagonal seam and line of stitching 24 intersects the longitudinal line of stitching 36 about 0.5 inch from the end of the line of stitching 36.

While the preceding discussion has involved the attachment of a border to a cardigan-type sweater, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that it may also be used for other types of garments having tubular bodies with closed ends. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited only to the disclosed construction but includes all modifications and improvements falling within the scope of the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. A method of making a garment wherein one garment element is sewn to a tubular garment element, said tubular garment element including confronting first and second panels joined together at opposed longitudinal lines, comprising the steps of, cutting the ends of the panels diagonally to provide diagonal edges on the first and second panels, said diagonal edges being axially spaced apart at one longitudinal line and intersecting at the other longitudinal line, connecting the diagonal edge of the first panel to the diagonal edge of the second panel, and sewing the one garment element to said one of the longitudinal lines of the tubular garment element.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the tubular garment element in the vicinity of the diagonal edges is everted during the step of connecting the diagonal edges.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of connecting the diagonal edge of the first panel to the diagonal edge of the second panel is performed by sewmg.

4. A garment having one garment element attached by a first line of stitching to a tubular garment element, said tubular garment element having confronting first and second panels joined together at opposed longitudinal lines and each having diagonally cut ends, said first panel extending axially beyond said second panel and having its end portion folded transversely to confront itself, a second line of stitching connecting said diagonally cut ends, said lines of stitching intersecting at a point spaced inwardly from the end of the first line of stitching.

5. A garment according to claim 4 wherein the diagonally cut ends are turned inwardly of the tubular garment element and the second line of stitching is located inside the tubular garment element.

6. The garment of claim 4 wherein the tubular garment element is a tubular knit element.

7. The garment of claim 6 wherein the garment is a cardigan sweater and the tubular knit element is the vertical front border thereof.

8. A garment having one garment element sewn to a tubular garment element, said tubular garment element including confronting first and second panels in ined together at opposed longitudinal lines, said tubular garment element having at least one end closed by a portion of the first panel folded upon itself at a transverse fold line, said first and second panels being connected together along a diagonal line which extends from a point on one said longitudinal line which is spaced from the transverse fold line, to the intersection of the transverse fold line and the other said longitudinal line, and means connecting the one garment element to the one said longitudinal line of the tubular garment element.

9. The garment of claim 8 wherein the tubular garment element is a tubular knit element.

10. The garment of claim 9 wherein the garment is a cardigan sweater and the tubular knit element is the vertical front border thereof. 

1. A method of making a garment wherein one garment element is sewn to a tubular garment element, said tubular garment element including confronting first and second panels joined together at opposed longitudinal lines, comprising the steps of, cutting the ends of the panels diagonally to provide diagonal edges on the first and second panels, said diagonal edges being axially spaced apart at one longitudinal line and intersecting at the other longitudinal line, connecting the diagonal edge of the first panel to the diagonal edge of the second panel, and sewing the one garment element to said one of the longitudinal lines of the tubular garment element.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the tubular garment element in the vicinity of the diagonal edges is everted during the step of connecting the diagonal edges.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of connecting the diagonal edge of the first panel to the diagonal edge of the second panel is performed by sewing.
 4. A garment having one garment element attached by a first line of stitching to a tubular garment element, said tubular garment element having confronting first and second panels joined together at opposed longitudinal lines and each having diagonally cut ends, said first panel extending axially beyond said second panel and having its end portion folded transversely to confront itself, a second line of stitching connecting said diagonally cut ends, said lines of stitching intersecting at a point spaced inwardly from the end of the first line of stitching.
 5. A garment according to claim 4 wherein the diagonally cut ends are turned inwardly of the tubular garment element and the second line of stitching is located inside the tubular garment element.
 6. The garment of claim 4 wherein the tubular garment element is a tubular knit element.
 7. The garment of claim 6 wherein the garment is a cardigan sweater and the tubular knit element is the vertical front border thereof.
 8. A garment having one garment element sewn to a tubular garment element, said tubular garment element including confronting first and second panels joined together at opposed longitudinal lines, said tubular garment element having at least one end closed by a portion of the first panel folded upon itself at a transverse fold line, said first and second panels being connected together along a diagonal line which extends from a point on one said longitudinal line which is spaced from the transverse fold line, to the intersectioN of the transverse fold line and the other said longitudinal line, and means connecting the one garment element to the one said longitudinal line of the tubular garment element.
 9. The garment of claim 8 wherein the tubular garment element is a tubular knit element.
 10. The garment of claim 9 wherein the garment is a cardigan sweater and the tubular knit element is the vertical front border thereof. 